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GWP’s VISION is a water secure world. Our MISSION is to advance governance and management of water resources for sustainable and equitable development.

OUR UNIQUE VALUE: GWP mobilises action on the global water crisis through a unique combination of social capital, shared values, credibility within the global water community, bottom-up orientation, and expertise. A network of networks, we ensure the ‘voices of water’ can inﬂuence local, national, regional, and global development priorities. We are committed to our role as a neutral convener and respected for our focus on inclusiveness and sustainability.

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GWP creates and communicates information about integrated water resources management which contributes to improved water governance and, ultimately, water security.

Together with our Partners, we provide knowledge resources and capacity building activities for solving water problems.

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Institutional Partners are the basis of GWP's multi-stakeholder partnership. A strong, diverse partnership can bring about the changes needed to achieve a water secure world. In this section, learn about the benefits of being a Partner and meet a few who already are. We invite like-minded organisations to join us!

GWP Regions

This is where you can find links to the websites of our Regional Water Partnerships (RWPs). RWPs are closest to the countries where we work. They share knowledge and learning across national boundaries and are expected to have an open, inclusive, and gender-sensitive policies for bringing together as wide a group of stakeholders as possible to solve water problems.

Global IWRM

2/19/2020

GWP Contributes to International Symposium on Water and Culture

The International Symposium on “Water and Culture: Learning from Water Heritage to Innovate Regional Development” was held on 3 February in Tokyo, Japan. The aim was to achieve a deeper understanding of relations between people and water by visiting water heritage around the world. About 260 people from 43 countries participated, among those GWP Chair Howard Bamsey and GWP Technical Committee Chair Jerome Delli Priscoli. Dr. Delli Priscoli shared reflections from the U.S. experience on water resources.

In his contribution, Dr. Delli Priscoli explained that throughout history, water has been central to the political culture of the United States: “George Washington used appeals to managing water, specifically concerns over French control of the Mississippi, to encourage participation of delegates to the Philadelphia constitutional convention. In 1808, President Jefferson, commissioned Secretary Gallatin to assess the water resources of the young nation and continent. The report said that waterways were to be used for building political unity, national defense and economic development; in short as the means for building political culture and stable political institutions,” said Dr. Delli Priscoli, adding that to this day, water events have transformed the U.S. political landscape:

“The 1920 Mississippi floods helped create a great migration from south to north; they transformed political allegiances of major social groups; changed the technical approaches from levees only to control structures for flood defense, and were a major reason for the election of Herbert Hoover as President. Even the more recent hurricane Katrina impacted Presidential elections. True to Jefferson and Gallatin’s projections, waterways investments have been a vital element of our ability to adapt, recover, and maintain social stability in times of stress of natural disasters.”

Dr. Delli Priscoli’s presentation was one of several case studies shared by leading experts and researchers on water and cultures from around the world.

Keynote addresses were delivered by Mr. Nicolas Franke, Sustainable Development Officer of UNDESA (as a representative of Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations) and H.E. Dr. Phoeurng Sackona, Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Cambodia. The Emperor and Empress of Japan were also present at the symposium.

The Symposium was organised by the United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), the High-Level Experts and Leaders Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP), and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Netherlands.

Photo: Dr. Jerome Delli Priscoli delivering his speech at the Symposium in Tokyo.

Page last edited: 2/19/2020